Our Connected Curriculum
Connected Curriculum Rational
It is our intent that the children in our schools to enjoy learning through our ‘connected curriculum’. It is designed to help the children make connections…
- with one another within each individual school
- between both schools
- with local and global communities
- to our past as we learn from those that have gone before us
- with future generations by considering the footprint we are leaving behind
- across different subjects in order to fully immerse themselves in their learning, to make subject matter meaningful and to maximise learning time.
At the heart of our curriculum is the notion that our children will become ‘brave change-makers’. We want to help the children in our schools to develop the skills and confidence to speak out and to make a difference.
In the words of Greta Thunberg ‘No one is too small to make a difference’.
We want to connect our children to the world: their school world; their family world; their community world; their national world and their global world.
We have used the six Oxfam Global Themes as a starting point for our curriculum and have built our curriculum around a Christian ethos.
…an ethos of action-taking, challenging injustice and becoming agents of change in the transformation of ourselves, our relationships and our communities from the local level to the global.
Christian aid, global neighbours handbook
The curriculum journey begins with the national curriculum and supporting this are the global themes, brave changemaker skills and topics which provide a context for the learning.
How we teach the Connected curriculum
In years 1-6 we plan our curriculum on a two year rolling programme which enables us to explore deeper in our learning. In reception, all 6 themes are taught to ensure that children get a balanced introduction to the curriculum and the pace of learning is appropriate to children’s developmental stage.
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Identity and Diversity |
Peace and Conflict |
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Social Justice |
Rights and Responsibilities |
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Sustainable Environmental Development |
Global Neighbours |
Central to the curriculum is that it gives our children the skills and knowledge they need, through topics that allow pupils to question, probe, think deeply about and challenge perception, making a mark in their communities. In our schools, this is what is known as a developing as a brave change-maker.
Brave change-maker skills icons:
In the same order as the icons above - Communication, critical thinking, empathy, self-awareness and reflection, managing change, cooperation and confliction resolution and making decisions
How Connected curriculum is assessed at St Mary’s
The connected curriculum is assessed using teacher judgement based on what is experienced in the class room. Children also demonstrate their learning through products at the end of each long term. Products provide children with the opportunity to get their voices heard as brave changemakers. The aim is to reach out into the community in a range of ways.
